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Think of it this way. If the strategy/direction was wrong, and the client hated it, you’d be doing it over anyway. Flaws aren’t always apparent at the early stages, and while it sucks to change gears midstream, it’s better to present work that will sell.
Thanks for your insight. I appreciate it 😊
I have to respectfully disagree with Senior CW 1 and ACD 1. There will be changes made along the way internally / with the client / before things ship, which of course we should expect. But from what you’re describing, it sounds like your team is doing a complete 180 time and time again. Which indicates that 1) processes, deadlines, and budget are being disrespected or overlooked from the start (not good) and 2) something is going wrong enough with the upfront work that means you have to change direction completely midway (definitely not good). In my experience, if your project starts on a strong foundation, completely changing direction before it even reaches the client happens rarely - and if it does happen, it’s normally a result of indecision or lack of vision from leadership.
It’s a tough situation to manage, and unfortunately it comes down to your leadership team understanding this. There’s not much you can do beyond sitting them down and explaining to them (in a professional manner) that having a strong process and accountability to stick to milestones/ direction is better for your company’s bottom line, the team’s morale, and your client in the end. And ask your team at the start of the project to consider all angles and potential concepts thoroughly before committing to one. Poke holes and ask tough questions. Frequently these situations come down to outright laziness - an attitude of “this works fine for now and we don’t want to think about it too much, I’m sure we can fix it later.”
Hope that helps, OP! I feel your pain but it can get better.
I love how you point and said things out regarding management, skills, respect, and accountability. I may be biased with this comment but it seems that we have the same values and etiquette towards work. I give utmost importance to discipline and respect particularly to processes and policies. Maybe that's the reason I find it hard to accept a statement like "things may change along the way". I believe that if one project has been briefed correctly, ideas pitched-in and backed up by researches and datas, challenged and looked for loopholes to foresee failure, then, change in the middle of the creation will not happen. Thank you for your insight. I appreciate very much :)
Example: Your team is up for a presentation and you've had your sit-down of how the campaign would go (brand story, strategy, kv, campaign handle/tagline, etc.) and agreed to go that way. Since the strategist had already laid all the necessary visuals needed, you as a content, then work with your artist for the output. Afterwards, somewhere along the creation of the content, the strategist and director changed their minds and wanted another approach. I find this disrespectful of skills, really time consuming, and very poor decision-making skills for the heads.
Processes aren’t meant to be concrete.
When you look at something like the Kylie Jenner Pepsi ad and imagine that project in the same scenario, it’s slightly easier to wrap your head around. Sometimes you realize that your idea isn’t going to work or there’s a cultural context that wasn’t considered. Or the idea just isn’t what you thought it was. Sometimes you have to cut your losses and start over.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I appreciate your responses :) I just need to hear other people's ideas and approach on these kinds of things. Thanks for your comments!